To Feel
by Unit 03
Summary: Metal Sonic is modified to be able to feel his damage, instead he can feel everything. A story of discovery. R&R please. FINISHED!
1. The Last Time

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Chapter 1: The last time  
  
Metal chunks fly everywhere in this city of steel. Explosions left and right. The beauty and terror of a fierce battle rages on through one of Eggman's outlying cities. Two blue blurs are seen smashing through everything around them.  
  
"That's enough Metal. You've taken too much damage. We will retreat at once." The familiar blue robot stares at his rival with blood red eyes. The instincts built into him build his fury to destroy that one adversary. All he thinks, all he knows is how to destroy. Completely unaware of what the battle has done to his body. His chest scratched down to the circuits; the better part of his left quill torn halfway off; his right arm cut clean bellow the elbow; his legs sparking; his back half melted from overheating his booster; an open tear across his face; not one square inch was without a dent. No matter how close he came to his own destruction, he wouldn't stop.  
  
"01010011 01101001 01110010 00101100 00100000 01101100 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100"  
  
"No Metal. Retreat with me at once!" With his only hand held in a resentful fist, Metal Sonic turned around and followed his master. Eggman flew away in his Hover Egg as fast as the reserve power would allow. Metal Sonic, with his mind still fixated on his one objective, landed on the left wing. "Can't you think what would have happened if I hadn't brought you out? You were too reckless out there. You can't continue to fight this way or next time you might be so lucky." Metal Sonic tilted his head forward in thought.  
  
"01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100100 01101111 00111111"  
  
"Let me tell you this first, just because you don't feel the pain doesn't mean you aren't taking heavy damage. This is the last time this is happening." Metal Sonic still didn't understand.  
  
"01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 00111111"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that Metal. I'll take care of it." Metal Sonic couldn't even wonder what would be in store for him. He simply stood there with his damaged arms crossed.  
  
It was a tranquil ride back to the main fort. A colossal structure in grey and red. Yet, even the 12 story high monolith was just the tip of the iceberg as the fort extended half a mile into the earth. Eggman moved in as the hanger gate opened. Already waiting for him was a squad of repair drones.  
  
"Quickly, get him to a repair station." Eggman signaled the drones toward the near totaled Metal Sonic. Metal on the other hand wasn't happy about this, giving the drones a threatening glare. Eggman only pressed a few buttons on his console and Metal Sonic was out like a light.  
  
*unknown time laps*  
  
Metal Sonic woke up, laid down inside a capsule. Several cables connected to his body. He was repaired and restored right down to his fingertips. Even within Eggman base, he felt disoriented. "01010111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01001001 00111111 00100000 01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110000 01110000 01100101 01101110 01100101 01100100 00111111" Eggman walked in a few seconds after, stepping to the capsule. "Ah, good, you're awake." With the press of a button the glass on top parted at the middle and slid to the sides. Metal sat up as the cables detached and retracted away. He looked at his hands first, examining them. He looked back to his creator, puzzled. "01000100 01101111 01100011 01110100 01101111 01110010 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101101 01100101 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100110 01100110 01100101 01110010 01100101 01101110 01110100 00101110"  
"Yes, yes." Eggman took a few paces, looking down. He took a deep breath and turned to his prized robot. "I made one large modification. The first time I ever try something similar." Metal Sonic tilted his head as he listened. "You see, for you to take more care and not get yourself destroyed, you have to feel the pain of damage. Your outer armor has a new layer that will transmit tactile perception to you CPU. It's almost like you have skin." Metal Sonic looked back at his hands. Nothing looked different, but something wasn't the same. "You'll know what to do, so don't worry about a thing." Metal stepped out of the capsule. As he stood on his feet, something was strange. There seemed to be a weight on him, but nothing was on him. As he took a few steps, he stopped noticing. Things seemed a bit back to normal for the moment. "Go outside for now. I've got plans to draw up. I'll call if I need you."  
  
Metal Sonic walked over to the only exit door. As he continued to walk towards the hangar, he looked back at his hands. Slowly, he brought his hands together; his fingers slowly rubbing past each other.  
  
"01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00111111" Metal Sonic was baffled at the sensation. "01001001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01110011 00111111" He was sure what this would mean for the future. All he could be certain of is that everything he knew was about to change.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
AN: That ends chapter one. Hope you enjoy the story as it progresses. 


	2. The First Time

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03  
  
AN: Those aren't just random zeros and ones. Metal Sonic does actually speak. You can use an online binary to text converter to see what he's saying. I chose to keep it this way because in the anime movie, Metal Sonic spoke in code.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Chapter 2: For the first time  
  
As Metal Sonic walked through the hangar, every little robot scattered out of his way. He only looked at his hand as he rubbed his thumb against the rest of his fingers. Something so new. A new kind of data input.  
"01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101101 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111" As he approached the main door, Metal looked for the closest bot he could see. He pointed at one not six feet away. The little robot froze in place. "01001111 01110000 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101111 01110010" The bot took a few slow steps back, then went into an all out run for a control board. He flicked a switch, watching Metal Sonic carefully. Metal Sonic stepped forward. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. As Metal walked away from the faint shadow of the hangar into the sunlight, there was a subtle tingle. He stopped. This sensation; it wasn't pain, is was, connected to his thermal sensors. The sun gave a slight raise in temperature. He stood there, motionless, finding the sensation almost pleasurable. Everything he could have been thinking about just melted away. It was a beautiful blank. No thoughts, just an experience. Metal Sonic lifted his face towards the midday sun, his eyes dimming. He didn't need to see the sun to know it was there. All the other robots kept there distance, looking at Metal Sonic in confusion. Not one of them could understand what Metal Sonic was going through, a brief eternal moment. This would have gone on for a much longer period of time had he not been interrupted. The PA speakers blasted throughout the entire fort.  
"METAL SONIC, REPORT TO TESTING AREA B AT ONCE." Metal Sonic's optical sensor went back on. He knew he had to leave, but somehow, he wanted more; to feel more. Knowing his place, Metal Sonic activated his booster. An intense wind blew inside the hangar, throwing back most everything within 20 feet. After warming up for about four seconds, he flew out into the sky, making a sharp turn to his right back towards the fort. Down below, mostly guard robots on patrol. The shades of grey and red contrasted heavily to Metal Sonic's blue. During the whole flight, Metal Sonic felt as if something were rushing past him, but nothing was there. As he slowed down, so did the feeling. As he sped back up, so did this new sensation. It was exhilarating. He had never experienced anything like this whenever he took flight before. Below him, a small enclosure with no roof and a large 'B' on the ground inside it. Metal Sonic forgot where he was going and passed the test area without a second glance. The PA blared again. "METAL! GET DOWN TO THE TESTING AREA NOW!" Metal Sonic twitched his head, remembering he had to comply with his master. He turned around, slowly descending into the test area. Finally inside in the eight foot high walls, Metal took notice of Eggman waiting for him.  
"Well, now that you're here we can commence the test. This way." The place was barely 50 square feet, all dirt ground. Eggman walked Metal Sonic over to a two foot high steel block, firmly stuck in the ground. "Now then. I want you to brace yourself against this block and gradually accelerate your booster. Feel free to stop if things don't seem right. I'll be monitoring from over there." Eggman signaled to what looked like a near ground level bomb shelter. "Go ahead a get to it."  
"01011001 01100101 01110011 00100000 01000100 01110010 00101110 00100000 01010010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 01101110 01101001 01101011" Metal Sonic planted his feet firmly in the ground and braced his hands up against the block. Eggman was already tucked away in the shelter. Metal Sonic activated his booster. 5%...10%....15% Metal Sonic didn't understand what this test was for. He was functioning normally. 40%...45%...50%. "01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110011 01110100 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101" The force of his booster was blowing up gusts of wind and dirt. 70%...75%...80%. He started to feel something. It was faint. It was like the sun, but not enjoyable. 95%...100%...105%. Something was feeling wrong. 120%...125%...130%. It got worse. Metal Sonic ferociously disliked this feeling. 140%...145%...150%. It became unbearable. "01010000 01100001 01101001 01101110 00100001" Metal Sonic shut down his booster, falling to hands and knees. This was pain.  
"Well, looks like the experiment was a success." Eggman stood over Metal Sonic. "Had you kept going any further you would have risked severe damage to your booster and rear armor." Without getting up, Metal Sonic lifted his head towards Eggman.  
"01001001 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110111 01100001 01101110 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100001 01100111 01100001 01101001 01101110" Eggman only crossed his arms.  
"You won't, as long as you don't hurt yourself." Eggman turned around and started walking to the exit. "I don't think we'll need to do any more tests. You can go now." Metal Sonic picked himself up, the pain slowly subsiding. He hated this pain, but more than hate he feared it.  
"01001110 01101111 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01100101" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ AN: The plot will thicken. Expect the unexpected in chapters to come. 


	3. Understanding

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Chapter 3: Understanding  
  
After a few minutes, Metal Sonic was back on his feet and feeling fine.  
  
"01001001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110000 01110101 01110100 00100000 01101101 01111001 01110011 01100101 01101100 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01110010 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100110 01101111 01110010 01100101 00111111" As he walked out of the test area, a cool breeze passed by. Strange, even though he was standing still, the feeling was almost like flying. Metal got himself together. He wanted to stop by the repair bay just to get everything checked out. As he walked, Metal Sonic couldn't help but think what else he could feel.  
  
Metal Sonic stood before an entrance with no door; a 12 foot high entrance to be exact. Inside, dozens of the same drone robots running around everywhere. The sound of drills and ratchets engulfed any other noise. Wielding torches were in almost every corner, sparks flying. Robots, big and small, were being fixed. Spare parts being lifted up and out by cables on the roof. Metal Sonic stepped in, looking around at the commotion. As soon as he set foot in the bay, two small repair bots rushed over to him. One stood to his left, the other to his right. As they began their scan of Metal Sonic's body, he remained still. Expansive red beams traced Metal Sonic top to bottom. Once they finished, one went behind Metal Sonic. The other bot spoke.  
  
"You sustained damage to your booster. Most likely you were running beyond it capacity. The repairs should take three minutes." After saying he had to say, he went and help the other. Metal Sonic didn't say a word. Now he understood what pain was for.  
The robots finished the repairs. "All set. You can go now." Metal Sonic didn't even look back at the repair bots. He turned around, and blasted off.  
  
Metal Sonic flew far off. He left the borders of the fort behind. He was flying aimlessly, not caring where he'd go. As he went out for miles, he remembered his battles with Sonic. He remembered seeing Sonic almost as damaged as he was. It stood out in his mind; the image of Sonic, covered in his own blood. Before he could finish thinking, Metal Sonic found himself over a small forest. There was something he had to find out. He landed in the forest, looking around for something. He found one. There was a small brown rabbit in his sight. In the blink of an eye, he dashed right up to it and slashed its side with his right hand, leaving four red streaks in its fur. The rabbit tried to hop away but the wounds had gone down to its ribs. It twitched, nearly convulsing. Metal Sonic watched as the rabbit bled more and more. He watched until it closed its eyes and stopped moving. Metal Sonic looked at his hand, blood on the fingertips. Maybe out of wonder, maybe fascination, maybe curiosity, no matter what the reason, he took the same hand slowly moved it below his other arm and in one swift motion, slashed his own side and chest right across, tearing open four lines.  
  
Now he knew. The overwhelming pain, the anguish, the feeling of terror. He clenched his fists tight. His arms firmly crossed against his chest. He fell to his knees, dropping his head down into the ground.  
"01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110101 01110011 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01110011 00111111" The many times before when he had attacked and killed, he never even thought about how his victims felt. Now he knew. Metal Sonic thought to himself in his moment of empathy, that no one should have to feel like this.  
He jumped up, throwing open his arms and flying back. He had to return to be repaired again. The main fort was too far now, he would have to settle for a smaller outpost. In the air, the heat from his booster intensified the pain on his torn armor. His other senses were being overwhelmed. His hearing escaped him completely, and slowly, his vision got darker and blurrier. The outpost was in sight. Everything was getting darker, more and more black. He was almost there, then his vision shut down. His booster went out and his fall began. He started falling towards the outpost, but unable to land. All went blank.  
  
*unknown time laps*  
  
Metal Sonic woke up, this time in an open top bay. Four robots were tending to his repairs. The pain was gone. All his senses were back. He sat up abruptly, looking around, then looking at himself.  
  
"You had crash landed near this outpost. Your repairs are complete now. We will inform Dr. Robotnik of your situation." As the small robot was about to walk away, Metal Sonic grabbed it by the shoulder.  
  
"01001110 01101111 00100000 01000100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100" The robot turned back.  
  
"You don' want me to relay the message?" Metal Sonic took his hand off the bot.  
  
"01001001 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110100 01100101 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101000 01101001 01101101 00100000 01101101 01111001 01110011 01100101 01101100 01100110"  
  
"Alright then. As long as you take care of it, then no problem." Metal Sonic got up walked a few feet away from them. As he blasted away, he sent the little robot a bit back, all landing on their backs. He started in the direction of the main fort, then turned towards another direction unnoticed.  
  
"01001110 01101111 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01000100 01101111 01100011 01110100 01101111 01110010 00101110 00100000 01001110 01101111 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01100101" 


	4. Compassion

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03  
  
AN: I'm still getting people ask me about the binary code. Go see for yourself: Copy the stuff into this converter if you want. I'll say it again, I used this because in the Sonic anime movie, Metal Sonic speaks in code, henceforth he will speak in code here.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Chapter 4: Compassion  
  
High up in the air, Metal Sonic turns his back on the fort, leaving for his own agenda. Eggman would put him threw no more pain. The experiment wasn't a complete success. For this moment, Metal Sonic had no intentions of feeling ever again.  
  
He unintentionally landed himself on a cliff edge on the Mystic Ruins. He shut down his booster and sat down, facing the water. He started playing back all his battles with Sonic. He watched how Sonic bled and wondered how he withstood the pain and kept fighting. He played back events from the archive of Sonic's memories. He could only conclude that this unsuccessful experiment was further off than he or Eggman had thought. He stopped at this moment, leaving everything back in the archives. He only gazed out at the water.  
  
The train came in. There was a small screech as it came to a halt. Metal Sonic looked over to the train, spotting a familiar pink hedgehog coming out with a bag of groceries. He looked back down at the water, as if nothing had happened. A minute passed, he went nowhere. Behind him he heard a bag drop.  
  
"What! You again?!" Metal Sonic knew what was coming. As she charged in with her hammer, Metal Sonic zipped behind her. She was left struggling to regain balance, and to not fall, on the edge of the cliff. Standing behind her, Metal Sonic grabbed the hammer, pulling her back and taking it out of her hand. Before the girl had a chance to get up, he tossed the hammer far behind him. She got up heading to hit Metal Sonic with her bare hands. "You hurt Sonic you creep." Before she could land one hit, Metal Sonic grabbed her wrist, holding her back and not knowing how hard he was holding on. "Ow! That hurts!" Metal Sonic instantly let go, stumbling back a few steps. "Huh? Is something wrong with you?"  
  
"01000001 01101101 01111001" Metal Sonic's head sunk. "01001001 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100100 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01101101 01100101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01110101 01110010 01110100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101" Amy scratched her head.  
  
"What? I can't understand you." She had been one of the first he had hurt. He nearly destroyed her home. What was this new pain in him? Metal Sonic knew he was not damaged, but something was in pain. It wasn't sharp, but still there. There was something he had to say, but Eggman never gave him the ability to speak. Amy took a few curious steps toward Metal. He gradually lifted his head. She was close now. Metal Sonic extended his right arm, gently taking her hand in his. In that moment, that unknown pain was gone. A new feeling surged through him. She was warm, and there was something very different from the rigged metal he knew. A softness. Amy couldn't understand what was going on, but she felt no threat, of that she was sure. Metal Sonic lifted her hand, they were palm on palm. Their fingers interlocked. His view diverted from their hands over to Amy face. He slowly let go, putting his arms at his sides. Amy tilted her head a bit, and with a little hesitation raised her right hand over to Metal Sonic's face. She touched his left temple and cheek. Metal Sonic turned his head away for just a second. The sensation was like one he couldn't fathom. He turned back to her.  
  
"01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001" Amy didn't respond, she only took one step closer. Without a reason why, Metal Sonic also took one step forward. Amy didn't say a word. She knew something was different about Metal. She touched his face again, this time Metal Sonic didn't move. He felt warmness, a tingle he couldn't explain. Something in his personality was interfering with how he perceived this touch. He put his hand over hers, following her hand as she brought it down. He took his other hand and slowly placed on her shoulder. It was the most wonderful feeling he had experienced yet. Amy didn't bother looking. Metal slowly brought his hand down, going over her entire arm. Amy started to understand.  
  
"You can feel this?" Metal Sonic knew she wouldn't understand his speech, so he nodded his head twice. "You're not like you were before, something inside you changed. Right?" Metal Sonic nodded only once this time. Amy took both his hands. "You understand what you've done in the past?" Metal Sonic dropped his head. He knew, pain was something he didn't want to deal with again, not for anyone. Amy's female empathy understood everything Metal Sonic was trying to say. "Then, have you left Eggman?" Metal Sonic lifted his head. He looked into her eyes, staying for a few seconds, Amy waiting anxiously. He nodded again. Amy let go of his hands, and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. "Then I forgive you." Metal Sonic stood still for about five seconds; this was possibly the strangest, but best thing he felt yet. He slowly took his arms and gently held onto Amy. Finally, someone could understand him. 


	5. Can't Change the Past

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Chapter 5: Can't Change the Past  
  
Amy let go of Metal Sonic, a shimmer in her eyes.  
  
"Come on. Follow me." Amy went and picked up the brown paper bag she had drop before. "Here, you can carry this for me." She shoved the bag onto the unsuspecting Metal Sonic. Amy picked up her hammer and put it away, checking back at Metal with a small smile. "Let's go." Amy began walking to a large hill. Metal Sonic followed her. He watched her quills sway in the light breeze. So unlike the steel and iron he knew so well. Amy led him to a tall stairway of rock, dirt, and grass. "Not far now." She said looking back at Metal Sonic, still holding the bag. When the steps ended, Amy motioned over to a large house, covered in moving gears and pumping pistons. "Tails did some renovations a while back. Come on in." Amy walked up the two steps in front of the door. She pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. "You can help me get this stuff in the fridge, the guys won't be back for a until dinner time." Metal Sonic followed Amy inside, walking through a hallway before reaching the kitchen. On the way, he noticed framed photos on the walls. One picture stood out for him: Sonic was in it, Amy behind him holding on to him from over his shoulders, both of them smiling. Before Metal Sonic could get a clear reaction, Amy spoke. "Okay, you can set the bag down here. I got it from here." He set down the bag next to the fridge. As Amy was putting everything in its place, Metal Sonic went back to the hallway. He kept looking at that same photo, unsure what to make of it. Amy finished up and went over to him. She saw which picture he was looking at and blushed for second. "We did a lot of growing up since we all first met." Metal Sonic simply walked back outside. "Hey. Are you alright?" Amy followed close behind. She could something was the matter. Metal Sonic sat down on the front steps. As Amy came over to him, he held up his hand, signaling her to back off.  
  
"01001010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101100 01100101 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101111 01101110 01100101" Amy backed up to the door.  
  
"I guess you just need some more time. I'll be inside." Metal Sonic looked up; the clouds were coming in. He stayed there, watching the clouds. About ten minutes later, a small plane was visible in the distance. Metal Sonic zoomed in on it; it was Sonic and Tails. He stood up and moved five steps away from the house.  
  
The plane came in, all of them in each other's sight. Sonic jumped off the plane before it landed and quickly dashed for Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic fired up his booster and charged for Sonic. The two bounced off each other; both sent flying in opposite directions. The two began battling at full force all over the coast. Tails pulled out his energy blaster and flew after the other two. Amy heard the blasts. She left her cooking and went outside. Sonic and Metal Sonic were now at the top of the plateau, hands locked.  
  
"01001100 01101111 01101111 01101011 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100101 01100001 01100011 01101000 00100000 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010"  
  
"Yeah, we still have each other. But one of us has to go sometime."  
  
"01001001 00100000 01100001 01100111 01110010 01100101 01100101" Sonic and Metal Sonic both went in for a head bash, bumping each other back. Amy was horrified at the scene.  
  
"Tails! What's going on?" Tails was up in the air, steadily aiming his energy blaster at Metal Sonic.  
  
"Stand back Amy. We'll take care of him. I'm just glad we came here in time." Amy went running to stop Tails.  
  
"Wait! You don't understand." Sonic went in spinning, Metal Sonic boosted in with his hands in slashing position. They went right past each other, both with a deep cut on their left arms. They stood still for a moment, looking at each other. They were both holding onto their injured arms.  
  
"Just as fast as ever I see."  
  
"01001110 01101111 00100000 01100100 01101111 01110101 01100010 01110100 00101100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101110 01101001 01100011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01100011 01101111 01110101 01110010 01110011 01100101"  
  
"Ha! Now that's funny." Metal Sonic continued the battle, despite his arm.  
  
"Tails, tell Sonic to stop right now." Tails just ignored Amy as he began firing, missing every shot though. Amy went after Sonic. Metal Sonic continued dodging everything Tails threw at him. Sonic and Metal Sonic raced and impacted continuously. They found themselves on opposite sides of the range. As they dashed in towards collision, they spotted Amy standing right in the way, holding her arms out.  
  
"Stop!" Sonic and Metal Sonic came to a screeching halt, mere inches away from Amy. "Stop this now. Metal, what happened to you just now?" Metal Sonic still kept his fighting stance as did Sonic.  
  
"01001001 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01100101 01110000 01110100 00100000 01101100 01101001 01110110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101100 01100100 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101111 01101110 01100101 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101110 01101001 01100011" Sonic found this slightly amusing.  
  
"I couldn't have said it better myself Metal." Sonic interjected. Amy turned back to Sonic in surprise.  
  
"You can understand him?"  
  
"Sure. We almost read each other's minds, which makes it hard for either of us to win." Amy was starting to loose her patience on this one.  
  
"Just tell me what he said."  
  
"That? He just said he can't stand there being more than one Sonic around. I couldn't agree more." Amy was shocked at hearing this. She went over to Metal Sonic and held his right hand.  
  
"Metal, you don't have live like this anymore." Metal jerked his hand away from Amy. He looked away from her, not wanting to look her in the eye.  
  
"01000100 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101000 01101001 01101101 00101100 00100000 01000001 01101101 01111001 00111111" Sonic crossed his arms in a rather displeased fashion.  
  
"Sonic, what did he say?" Sonic let out a sigh before speaking.  
  
"He asked...If you really care for me." Amy didn't know why he asked such a question.  
  
"I do. I care for Sonic a lot. What does this have to do with you?" Metal started walking away, holding onto his left arm.  
  
"01000111 01101111 01101111 01100100 01100010 01111001 01100101 00101100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100001 01110010 01101111 01110101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01100111 01100001 01101001 01101110" Metal Sonic blasted away towards the sea.  
  
"What was that last thing he said?" Sonic had a slightly sad face on.  
  
"He said...he wouldn't be coming back here again." Tails was waiting at the front door as Amy help Sonic inside to tend to his wounds.  
  
+++++++++++++++  
  
AN: Check out my profile for a reliable binary converter. 


	6. Tears for the Future

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Chapter 6: Tears for the Future  
  
Small sparks flew from Metal Sonic's arms as he began loosing control of his left hand. He didn't want to return to Eggman, but the pain was intensifying. He was starting to loose control over his flight when he saw a distinguishable sight in the water bellow. It was the remains of the Egg Carrier 1. All he knew about it was that it had been abandoned about three years ago. He slowly descended to it. He knew somewhere on it there would be a place where he could get his arm fixed.  
  
He landed just under the radar. The setting sun was blocked by the immense clouds. He held tightly onto his damaged arm as he struggled to get to the elevating platform. As he stepped on it began to lower into the ship. Inside, everything was dusty. The cleanup bots lay dormant. He hurried to the rear. Three doors that hadn't been opened in a long time stood there; rust free like their first day. Metal Sonic was fighting the pain now, just trying to make it. The door on the left opened up as Metal stood in front of it. As if the room were preparing itself for Metal Sonic's arrival, it began powering up. Metal knew that this time there would be no other robot to help him, and that he would have to remain online during the whole procedure because there would be no one to bring him back up if he went offline. A short seven feet away was a platform with mechanical arms coming in from all sides. He walked up and found a small console at its entrance. He punched in all the info the machine would need. As he walked in, he realized that never before had he done something like this alone.  
  
Two mechanicals arms came down, grabbing hold of his arm and clamping it steady. Another pair of arms swung in, one with a tiny set of tools and the other with a small wielder. This time the repairs were excruciating. As his arm was being worked on, Metal felt his pain intensified twofold. He covered his face with his other hand, flinching at the pain. His left hand was shaking violently as the connections were being redone. This was nothing like having his booster repaired, he felt the intense burn not only in that one spot, but he felt it go through his entire arm and almost into his back. After 6 minutes and 32.4 seconds of sheer agony, the mechanical arms let him go and withdrew. Metal Sonic fell to his face for a while, getting himself together.  
  
The pain had lifted now. Metal Sonic got up, shook his head, and walked out. The room powered down as he left. He walked once again through the dim, dusty hall of the Egg Carrier. The monorail was completely offline; no sense in using that to get back outside. When he got back to the elevating platform it didn't go back up. Looks like it only had enough energy for one last decent. He looked up and saw that the barriers didn't close completely. Metal Sonic took a few seconds to power up his shield, then shot straight up, blasting through the plates. As he shut off his shield and booster, he landed right in front of none other than Sonic himself.  
  
Sonic was leaning up against the radar tower, holding a brown backpack over his shoulder with his right hand. On his left arm was a thick white bandage, a thin red line was faintly visible alone the center.  
  
"Surprised to see me?" Sonic spoke with a grin.  
  
"01001110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001" Metal Sonic crossed his arms in that characteristic Sonic way.  
  
"Didn't think so." Sonic took a pause. "Guess how many stitches I had to get on my arm today?"  
  
"00110001 00110010"  
  
"Right. Guess we really do know everything about each other. Hope it didn't hurt you too much to get that arm fixed."  
  
"01001111 01101000 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111"  
  
"He he. Funny. Anyways, guess you already know though, Amy told about what happened. Can't say I believed her right away."  
  
"01001001 00100000 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01100010 01101100 01100001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101"  
  
"Heh, thanks. Well, knowing you now, I kinda took a wild guess as to what you were gonna to next." Metal Sonic only nodded in response. "I brought you something you might find useful." Sonic set down the bag and opened it. Inside were seven black lead boxes. He took one out and opened it, a green Chaos Emerald was inside. "We brought this one in today." Metal Sonic tilted his head and gave the signature thumbs up. "I'll miss you buddy. And don't worry, I won't say a word to Amy."  
  
"01010100 01101000 01100001 01101110 01101011 01110011 00101100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100111 01101111 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100"  
  
"Yeah right, like I'll really be able to sleep tonight knowing what you're about to do." Sonic closed the box and put it back in the backpack. "Things won't be the same without you. Ahh, why not? One for old times?" Sonic held out his fist straight forward. Metal Sonic lined up his fist with Sonic's.  
  
"01001100 01100101 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100111 01101111" Sonic smiled.  
  
"You're on." They both jumped back and began racing, crashing, bumping, and bashing throughout the entire Egg Carrier deck; a good battle just like old times. Not one of them took a single scratch this time though. After about two minutes, the two were facing each other on top of the immobile radar. Sonic extended a thumbs up, Metal did the same. They jumped back down together. "I guess I'll see ya around." Sonic was sad in his tone.  
  
"01000111 01101111 00100000 01101111 01101110 00101110 00100000 01000001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01000001 01101101 01111001"  
  
"No problem. She's in good hands."  
  
"01001110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01101000 01110101 01110010 01110010 01111001 00101100 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101111 01110010 01101101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101110 01110110 01100101 01110010 01110100 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111" Sonic looked up. The clouds were getting thicker and heavier. Sonic walked back to the raft that got him there. He gave a quick glance back to Metal; silently saying his last goodbyes. Metal watched him the whole way. Whether they liked it or not, they were bonded together, but not for much longer.  
  
The sun had finally set in the horizon, completely engulf by the dark clouds. Then, as expected, a few rain drops hit. Metal Sonic stepped out from under the radar. This was one thing he wanted to feel before he left. The drizzle got thicker. With the last step, Metal was no longer under the radar's shelter. The rain drops hit his face first. He forgot about seeing as the rain drops ran down his face. For the first time, Metal Sonic could do what was impossible to all robots: cry. There was a beautiful sadness in that feeling; his whole body slowly being wet and caressed by the rain. Those few moments of the thick rain drops were all he needed to understand a vital emotion he had long been kept from. His head sunk as he thought of Amy's face.  
  
The rain got thicker and heavier. The first bolt of lightning came crashing down not too far from the Carrier. Metal Sonic raised his head again. He looked back at his hand, the rain falling on his palm. As he clenched his fist, he knew that now was the time.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ AN: Ahhhh! It doesn't end yet! Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion. 


	7. There is Only One Sonic

To Feel  
  
By Unit 03  
  
AN: Gasp! Metal Sonic speaks!  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Chapter 7: There is Only One Sonic  
  
It was three hours past midnight, the storm was still raging.  
  
Metal Sonic walked back to the brown backpack Sonic left him; the rain still dripping off him. He took out each box one by one, placing them carefully in a wide circle around him, each one containing the ultimate power. All seven boxes were set. He tossed the pack a little ways off. "01001100 01100101 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101001 01101110 01100111"  
  
Another bolt of lightning came down. Metal Sonic paused at the crashing thunder. He opened up one box; a yellow twinkle. Metal moved to the box to the right. He opened that one; a dim orange glow. The next one came; a glimmering purple. Another box opened up; a blue radiance added to the assembling rainbow. By now Metal Sonic could feel the power being slowly unleashed. He opened the next box; a shining red. All the Emeralds were slowly increasing luminosity with each other. One more box open; a brilliant green. All the water that had dripped had been pushed away and evaporated. The light brightened up the carrier and then some. The final box came. Metal Sonic slowly opened the last box; a blinding white light. The rainbow was complete. The flash of lighting was dulled out from the radiance of the seven Emeralds together. A booming thunder passed by.  
  
A pillar of light surrounded Metal Sonic. Intervals, blends, and streaks of the seven colors lined the walls of the pillar. Metal Sonic stood firm; his fists clenched and his head down. Surges and streams of power flowed through Metal Sonic's body. He could now feel this power. Perhaps this was the feeling of absolute strength. As the power was traveling through his body, his shade of blue gradually got brighter and brighter. Metal Sonic was now shining just like the Emeralds. He lifted his head to the sky, throwing his arms straight out behind him. Then came a flash. The pillar shrunk down and exploded into a ring of light, expanding and dissipating in the air. Metal Sonic's color toned down from the blinding white to a glowing gold. A succession of lighting flashes lit the sky for another instant. Now the Emeralds were no longer in sight. "It's time to end this."  
  
Metal Sonic blasted away with his booster, leaving a five foot wide whole in the hull of the Egg Carrier; the metal still melting on the edges. He moved through the sky like a beam of gold and white light. Behind him, on his trail, lighting came down. The collective thundering was unheard over the intense sonic booms Metal Sonic left behind. Metal could compare no feeling of mere flight to this.  
  
Metal Sonic took the most direct path right back to Eggman's main fort. A wave of aerial defense robot numbering in the hundreds was guarding the fort. He was expected. Metal Sonic flew one circle around the fort in the blink of an eye. All the robots were sent disintegrating away in flames and ashes from the centrifuge. "Useless" Metal Sonic stopped, hovering in front of the north entrance. He was ten feet away from the building. Metal raised his right hand high over his left shoulder. In a flash he sent a slash of energy as he brought his arm down in an instant. The damage on the fort happened in delayed time. He watched as a slash tore into the fort a half second after his hand was already down.  
  
Eggman was still in his pajamas as he frantically ran for any means of escape. Guard robots gathered from every storage tank to the fort grounds. They fired countless projectile and laser shots Metal Sonic. He almost ignored them as not one shot could come in contact with him from his shield. Metal Sonic looked down at the massive amount of robots. All created to do nothing but destroy. Metal ran another circle, now down low. Every robot on the ground was reduced to hot ashes in one round. Metal Sonic looked around at the destruction he caused. He felt no remorse or regret about it. He understood now that whatever brings destruction brings pain. He looked back up to the sky. "Robotnik! Show yourself!"  
  
Eggman could only get to his standard Hover Egg. The slow and lumbering contraption would never outrun Metal Sonic even in his normal state. Metal spotted him. To Eggman, Metal Sonic just appeared in front of him out of nowhere. "It's over Robotnik." Eggman couldn't utter a word. He was paralyzed with fear. Metal Sonic slammed his hand into the hull of the Hover Egg and held onto it tightly. He dragged with him easily. He took Eggman with back into the fort. Entering from the open tear and not caring about any other obstacles as he blasted right through them. He dragged Eggman deeper and deeper into the heart of the fort. At last he found what he wanted: the central power core. It was a large and spacious chamber in mostly green and well lit. Metal Sonic threw Eggman's Hover Egg violently to the ground, breaking not only the machine, but Eggman's leg. Eggman yelled on impact. Metal Sonic lowered himself so as to be heard. "You've put me and many others through much greater pain than you will ever experience."  
  
There were five large tubes pumping in coolant for the nuclear powered generator. Metal Sonic knew exactly what to do. He floated over to the main one, slashing it clean off. The temperature was already rising. "Wait Metal! You'll cause a meltdown." Metal Sonic watched Eggman as he slashed one of the secondary tubes. "That was the point." He slashed another tube. The cooling fluid falling to the floor, wasted. Eggman pushed every button on his Hover Egg's console but to no avail. The room was getting exceedingly hot as Metal slashed the two last tubes. Eggman was breathing heavily, about to pass out from the heat alone. Metal Sonic hovered down to the ground. He saw the console connected to the generator close by. He pushed a few buttons quickly. A lead dome rose up from the ground, covering the fort from the ground up. "I've shut us in and set the reactor to overload." Eggman couldn't even give a response from the heat a terror.  
  
Metal Sonic calmed himself. His shining gold returned to his usual blue. The feeling of absolute strength passed. Now he could feel the uncomfortable heat. A monotone voice resonated in the chamber. "CORE_MELTDOWN_IN_20_SECONDS" Metal Sonic sat down and leaned against the console. "01010100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01101111 01101110 01101100 01111001 00100000 01101111 01101110 01100101 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101110 01101001 01100011"  
  
*Back at the Mystic Ruins*  
  
Sonic woke up abruptly from his sleep. He sat up throwing the bed sheets off him in an unthought-of frenzy. His face showed fear to as much as he could show. In his brusque movements Amy woke up. She was a little scared herself seeing Sonic like that. She sat up, putting her arm over his shoulder.  
  
"Did something happen?" She said while gently rubbing his back. Sonic took a few heavy breaths before speaking.  
  
"It's nothing. Just go back to sleep." Sonic got up and out of bed. "I'm just gonna get a glass of water."  
  
"Ok. *yawn* I don't think I'll be waiting up." Sonic was almost out the bedroom door.  
  
"It's ok." Sonic went downstairs.  
  
On the dining room table he found the center piece, a bouquet of roses in the blue vase. He pulled a single rose out of the bunch. He walked to the front door as quietly as he could, trying not to wake up Tails. As he went outside, the storm was almost over. The last drops of rain were falling. Sonic walked all the way to the edge of the runway. He closed his eyes for a moment, holding the rose close. "We could have been real friends if we hadn't been enemies. I'll guess I'll miss you." Sonic held up the rose, and gently tossed it over the edge to the sea. "Goodbye my friend."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
AN: That's it. It's over. Stop bugging me for updates. Now R&R please.  
  
Oh, and by the way, here's what Metal Sonic said last: "There will be only one Sonic" 


End file.
